Stepping out of the sales department, Kiana made her way towards her desk. As she drew closer, she noticed yet another bouquet of red roses on her desk. Her brows slightly furrowed as she came to a stop.

Nicolas.

The first word that popped up in her mind. The next that followed was a swell of anger, heightened by irritation. Without wasting a moment more, she hastened her pace towards her desk and only stopped when she was in front of it. She stared at the flowers for a moment, then without much hesitation attempted to grab the bouquet roughly off her desk.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed in pain, as she immediately let go of the bouquet and it fell right back to its initial position. Her face squeezed in pain as she took a look at her thumb, which seemed to have been pricked by a needle-like structure. She stared in disbelief as her blood slowly clouded the once dry area of her thumb. Her eyes shifted back to the roses laying on her table as she wondered the possibility of a thorn having pricked her thumb by accident. She drew her face closer to the roses and scanned using her eyes for any sign of the thorn. She only stood straight once more after she caught sight of the few thorns. She also sighted a small card which earlier on, she hadn't taken notice of. Although she felt a little mad at Nicolas for sending flowers even after the incident last night, Kiana went ahead and picked up the card. She would like to understand why he would send her roses with thorns.

The secret you think no one else knows of, I know of it and very soon, the world will find out what you've done, Kiana Stuart.

As she raised her eyes away from the card, her brows slightly furrowed in confusion.

Secret?

She wondered before reading through once more. The information stated nothing about the person who sent these flowers, and reading it the second time, made her realise it sounded a little like a threat. Raising her eyes once more away from the card, panic slowly settled within her. Why would anyone threaten her and which exact secret was this person talking about? What could she have done that no one except herself knows of?

Right that very moment, the answer to the last question flew into her mind.

It can't be.

She argued within as disbelief filled her. Eventually, she lightly shook her head, as if chasing away that very thought. She decided to believe the fact that it could be a prank from someone, but it also didn't make sense for someone to play such a prank. She didn't find it the least bit funny.

...and very soon, the world will find out what you've done, Kiana Stuart!

Unsettlement sank in as she recalled the last sentence. She couldn't help but wonder what this person meant by 'the world would soon find out what she had done?' None of it made sense to her.

Suddenly, she caught sight of Enrico clearly heading her direction, but his eyes hadn't met hers yet and just like he read her mind, their eyes met. Slowly, he drew to stop a few steps away from her table. Forgetting their environment for a moment, they stared at each other. Their silence filled with a lot of unspoken words. The incident from the previous night flashed across their minds and neither could say a word. His eyes scrolled down away from her face and unto the card in her hand before taking notice of the bouquet on her desk. Her gaze followed the exact direction his gaze fell on and then she realised he might have misunderstood once more. Before she could think of what to do or say, Enrico continued on his tracks past her and towards his office. Without sparing her one last glance, he walked right into his office and shut the door afterwards.

Kiana let out a loud sigh as she turned away from the door, her heart breaking once more and the tears feeling like they could come on any time soon.

"Another bouquet!?" Macy exclaimed, in excitement-surprised look on her face, as she sighted the flowers.

Kiana quickly gulped down, as if trying to control the tears that were attempting to surface. She forced herself to put up a brief and simple smile.

"Wow, Kiana, this admirer of yours is really no joke." She stated as she attempted to lightly brush her fingers through the petal. Recollecting what happened to her, Kiana quickly took hold of her hand to stop her from touching the roses.

Macy stared at her, a little surprised by her action.

"Um, they... they're not mine. Someone must've left them here by mistake." Kiana managed to defend her action.

"Hmm, I see." Macy added, with a raised brow and her arms crossed below her chest.

Kiana stared at her, a little confused at where she was headed.

"Don't you worry. I totally get the fact that you want to be secretive about this. No hard feelings." Macy finally spoke up, a simple smile playing on her face.

Unknowingly, Kiana let out a silent sigh as her eyes shifted elsewhere. Thankfully, Macy was going to let this all pass.

"Kiana, are you okay?" Macy's question caused her to shift her eyes back to her.

"Um... Yeah. I'm fine." Kiana managed to give a reply, although wondering why Macy would ask that.

"Are you sure? Your eyes look a bit puffy and red. Have you been crying?" She asked, care lacing on her words and embodied within her eyes.

Kiana's eyes slightly widened at how much Macy was able to find out. She hadn't taken the time to have a proper look at her face, so she had no idea her eyes looked red and puffy. Thinking about this fact also reminded her that they had felt heavy at intervals and since she barely had any sleep all night, she blamed it all on lack of sleep.

"Uh, no... I mean, not really."

"Not really? So, you did cry?"

"Um... Yes." She finally gave in, figuring the fact that she didn't have any better excuse as to why her eyes looked the way they did.

Macy let out a sigh.

"Do you want to tell me why? Is it a family problem or a relationship problem?"

"I..." Kiana started, as her eyes shifted elsewhere wondering what her reply should be. She didn't want to be rude to Macy and tell her to stay away, but at the same time, she really needed to speak to someone about what was going on. How could she do that without having to mention Enrico? Macy might not understand.

"Can I ask you a question?" She redirected and although that wasn't what Macy expected to hear, she seemed willing to listen.

"Sure." She encouraged and Kiana flashed a brief smile in gratitude. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"Let's imagine an old friend of yours, whom you turned down years ago suddenly, comes back into your life. Eventually, this friend develops... romantic feelings once more. Unexpectedly, he lets you know about his feelings, but he's not bent on winning your heart or making you his. In fact, he does the total opposite and tells you to forget everything and pretend like none of those words actually came out of his mouth, but you, on the other hand, for some reason can't seem to get it off your mind. You can't seem to forget his words and... you really want to see nothing else, but the usual genuine smile on his face to return." She ended and Macy was left staring at her with a little surprise across her face.

"Wow! That's a lot to imagine. Um, where do I begin to decipher this imagination?" She wondered for a moment as she looked away from Kiana.

"Wait. Is this imaginative me equally in love with her friend?"

What?

"In... love?" Kiana repeated, a little puzzled and taken aback by this very question. She really hadn't given a thought to this very question.

"Yes. Am I in love with this old friend of mine?" Macy repeated, her eyes focused on Kiana.

"Um... She... I mean, you're confused. You don't know if you equally love him or not."

"Hmm, so I'm confused... Well, this isn't going to be easy." Macy muttered, as she looked away for a moment. Kiana shifted her gaze elsewhere as well, a little part of her wondering what, on earth, she was doing.

"Do you want to be with him?" Macy's question made her shift her eyes right back to her.

"What?" Kiana managed to pronounce, a little dripped in shock and confusion. For a moment there, Macy had on a serious look, but then it suddenly went away.

"I mean do I, your imaginative me wants to really be with him? You said I want to see him smile, but his smile will only return when his happiness, which is, well me, becomes his. Do I really want to be with him?" She repeated, but a little more explanatory than earlier.

Kiana stared at her, as she suddenly grew speechless. For the first time, she had no idea what to reply. It was just a simple question yet she was taking so much time to give a reply. Does she want to be with him?

"Macy, I'm done!" Someone a little from behind yelled and they both had to direct their attention to the person.

"Okay. I'll be there in a minute." Macy replied this person, who eventually nodded in understanding, before Macy turned back to Kiana.

"Kiana looks like we might have to continue this conversation some other time, okay?" She told her and Kiana managed to give a light nod in understanding. Macy flashed her a warm smile and Kiana reciprocated it with one of hers, before Macy turned away.

"Oh, Kaina, I actually came here in the first place to let you know of something and we ended up jumping from one topic to the other." Macy stated as she turned and walked back to Kiana.

"You told me about this friend of yours who was in search of a place to stay, but then I couldn't help you. Now, I have what might seem a great news for this friend of yours."

"Really?" Kiana asked, as soon as she recalled having that conversation in the past with Macy.

"Yes. Well, the building that I live in, has this sort of rooftop shed, almost like a four-squared pen. Recently, the landlord has sort of renovated it and he's searching and willing to let anyone ready to pay a certain cheap amount of money live in it, so if your friend isn't quite picky, maybe she would like to give it a shot."

Kiana thought for a moment about all Macy just explained. Her own place. It really didn't matter the size. She would have to think about it.

"She's not picky at all. I'll let her know and if she's interested, I'll let you know. Thank you."

"Sure, you're welcome." Macy added with a smile before eventually walking away. As Kiana watched her leave, she let out a silent sigh. Could anything ever be easier for her? She couldn't understand why she always had to have something after going through a lot of difficulties.

She looked down at the card in her hand and she was forced to recall the strange threat someone left in this card. Kiana simply concluded it to being a prank. Nobody was going to mess with her so easily and with that thought, she threw the card and the bouquet into the nearest waste bin, then decided to concentrate on her job.

* * *

Apparently, Kiana's decision hadn't gone her way. She couldn't stop thinking about her discussion with Macy and then the last question she left her with. She still hasn't been able to, at least, give herself a reply to that question. Standing directly in front of Enrico's desk within his office while he busied himself going through the documents she just handed over to him, Kiana couldn't help staring at him.

Do you want to be with him?

She recalled Macy's exact question. A question she had spent half the day trying to figure out. At the moment, staring at Enrico, Kiana couldn't find at least a brief and simple smile on his face. It was as if his bright colours had been drained and he was left with dull black and white colours. She didn't like seeing him this way. In fact, it really broke her heart and she wished for nothing more than for him to return to his normal self. It was pretty obvious that he was trying this best to be strong and to stay away from her as much as possible. He hadn't even called her to get him a cup of coffee or something of that sort. She understood what he was doing, but a deep part of her didn't want him to do that. She didn't want him to avoid her or to permanently dismiss his smile.

Enrico cleared his throat barely taking a look at her and she had to snap out of her thoughts only to realise he had the folder in his hand stretched out to her. She hadn't noticed as she had a lot going on in her mind. She immediately stretched out her hand and collected it from him. Right away, he busied himself with something else, sparing her not a glance more. For what seemed like the longest time, Kiana stood there unable to leave and longing to hear his voice. She wanted to start a conversation, anything, just so the atmosphere can seem a little lighter.

"Um..." She started, her voice sounding a little shaky and unclear. She quickly warned her nerves to hang on, before taking in a deep breath to sort of give her a boost of energy.

"The day's almost over and... what would you like to have for dinner?" She asked, trying her best to sound normal and a little happy.

He stopped what he was doing and looked anywhere else but on her. A moment of silence passed before he finally said something.

"Make whatever you want." He simply stated, barely glancing up at her, before he continued with what he was doing.

A silent sigh escaped her lips, as disappointment washed over her. After staring at him for what seemed like forever, she forced herself to turn away and made her way out of his office.

At the sound of the door being shut, Enrico slowly raised his eyes away from the work he was supposingly dealing with. He stared at the door for what seemed like ages, a part of him yearning for her to come back. Honestly, he didn't enjoy being rude to her, but he needed to set boundaries. For her good and for his good, as well. It broke his heart, but if doing this would give him a change of heart and avoid this uncomfortable state she was in, because of him, then he was ready to do this. Enrico let out a sigh as he shut his eyes.

* * *

Kiana couldn't stop herself from crying as she stood in the restroom staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was hurt by the manner in which he was treating her. It broke her heart and she wanted it to stop. A day had barely gone by and she can't seem to bear the pain. She knew she wanted him back. His smile. His happiness. That kiss. She wanted it all back.

Do you want to be with him?

The very same question popped up in her mind once more but this time, she felt and she believed that she had an answer to it.

"Yes... I want to be with him." She confessed, whilst staring at her reflection. Right that moment, she felt a sort of heavy weight lift off her chest. It didn't feel strange or anything of that sort. In fact, joy slowly filled her. A light chuckle escaped her lips. She knew she loved him. She had always felt this way, but had a hard time figuring out exactly what all this exciting feeling was about. Enrico has managed to capture her heart.

Kiana made a decision to be greedy for once. She was going to tell Enrico about her new found feelings and exactly what happened all those years ago. There would be no secrets between them. She was going to claim her happiness. They were going to start afresh.

She couldn't wait to see a smile return to his face.